Sunday, April 18, 2010

What a weekend

Thursday we left Lynchburg to go to Raleigh for a family get together. My brother Nolan was in town for the week from TX, who I haven't seen since last year! He also brought his girlfriend Jen with him for us all to meet. My mom had planned for us all to get together at our church gym where we ate some yummy food and played basketball. We brought Jayden's walker and Ethan's basketball goal so that he could join in on the fun. We all had a great time and it was so good to see everyone again.
The next day, Ish and I took the boys to Marbles Kids Museum. Apparently Friday is the day for all the schools to do their field trips! It was insane! Because there was so much to do and so many kids around, Ethan wasn't able to really focus on a whole lot. He was a little standoffish because of the older kids but he did manage to find the train table and that's where he wanted to spend all of his time. we had to pull him away just so he could enjoy some of the other things that the museum had to offer. Thankfully after we ate lunch we were able to enjoy some things a little more b/c the crowds had either left or were eating outside. Overall we had a great experience and who liked to take them there again sometime. But I think we'll try it during the week instead and hopefully it won't be so crowded.
Once we came home we "tried" to lay the boys down for a much needed nap. But b/c they aren't in their beds the naps weren't so successful. However, I did manage to run out and get a much needed new cell phone. That basically just made my day lol. That evening Ish and I met with some friends for an oyster roast and ate some yummy grilled shrimp and oysters, played some corn hole and goofed off.
Saturday morning we spent our time packing and loading up the car to head back to the Burg. The car ride was challenging at times so we were so glad to get home! Later that afternoon we went to a kids birthday party, went to friends house for dinner and then put the kids to bed. What a weekend! The boys were so exhausted and soo glad to be in their own beds.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

So much to say

Today started off kindof cruddy with Ishmael getting Jayden and bringing him in the room when I just wasn't ready to get up yet. Every morning I have to grab a sweatshirt and slippers b/c it's always freezing downstairs and of course I'd like to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, and then I go get Jayden. But not this morning. So despite my cranky mood I really wanted some muffins. I usually just make the muffins that you add milk to but didnt have any in the pantry but I remembered that I had come across a recipe of Mocha Banana Chocolate chip muffins. I managed to have all the ingredients and started baking them. I added a few healthy ingredients like applesauce, wheat flour, wheat germ and oat bran to the mix, and let me just say they were delicious! You couldn't even taste the healthy stuff! Well since thats what Ethan had for breakfast he was in a great mood. Who wouldn't be after having chocolate lol. I actually was a little hesitant to give it to him but I thought I'd live a little on the edge today :)
I also introduced to him a new activity that a good friend of mine told me she used to do w/ her preschoolers. What you do is take a paper clip and bend it to where he can hold the curled part and stick with the pointy part. Then draw out either a shape or letter on a piece of paper and place on the carpet and have him poke holes along the lines. Basically its really good for their hand and eye coordination. I also think it helps him really focus. You can also save the pictures and see how he progresses each week by following the lines. Ethan loved this activity and would get so excited if he actually poked a whole b/c he had a hard time holding the paper clip the right way. I definitely will be doing this one on a weekly basis!
Also today I have noticed how well his vocabulary is progressing. I think it's so cute how he repeats what I say. He had macaroni for lunch and I forgot to put a bib on him and I say "oh no, you made a mess!" And he just repeated, oh no, a mess. It was cute.
He is definitely a learning machine right now and I'm loving it! Now if I can just get him to take a nap today!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Jayden is ONE!

It amazes me how fast this past year has just flown by. Jayden grew up in the blink of an eye. He turned 1 on Saturday and we had his 1st birthday party on Sunday. We decided to try and keep it small and simple this time and only invited a few close friends and family. We planned everything to be outside and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I was running around like a crazy person to get everything perfect for the party and we all managed to pull it off. Everyone had a great time and more importantly Jayden had a blast. It was a little difficult to try and keep all the focus on him since Ethan wanted to open all his presents and take them. Jayden got upset when Ethan would take his toy away from him and even through a mini tantrum (it actually was kindof funny) but overall it went well. I'm just glad it's easy to distract Jayden...for now anyways.
My parents got the boys matching chairs for the living room and they both love them. Jayden likes to climb in and out of them over and over. Jayden also got a riding toy like Ethan's except it's a train. My mom didn't consider the fact that Ethan is obsessed with trains so naturally Ethan took to it. I don't think Jayden ever got to really play with it until the next morning before Ethan woke up. (poor guy) Jayden got lots of great toys and some cute clothes, which I'm excited about b/c he's been wearing hand me downs basically the whole year.
Well to wrap up just want to say all the things that I love about Jayden:
His big blue eyes, happy personality, the way he cuddles with his blanket when he's sleepy, the way he smacks his mouth before he eats, the way he rocks back and forth to music, noise and going to sleep, the way he scoots on one leg when he's keeping up with Ethan, the way he holds on to me, the way he wakes up so happy in the morning, the way he giggles to pieces at Ethan, that he gets so excited when daddy comes home, when I put veggies on his plate, he'll just flick it w/ his little finger...(how does he know it's good for him?), the way he loves to climb the stairs and would spend all day going up and down them. I'm sure there's so much more. He's such a loveable boy and is so attached to his mommy-which I love because Ethan is a daddy's boy all the way!
So looking back on this past year w/ Jayden has been such a blessing and I can't wait to have many more.
Happy Birthday Jayden!!